New regs for Tuesday: Bath salts, bananas, housing

Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new regulations that would ban new strands of bath salts, allow Filipino bananas in Hawaii, and a handful of rules for executives in the housing industry.

Here’s what is happening:

Bananas: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering changes to a rule that would allow Filipino bananas to be sold in Hawaii and other U.S. territories along the Pacific coast. The bananas would have to adhere to certain safety requirements to make sure they don’t bring pests into those areas.

Bath salts: The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Justice plan to add 10 new strands of bath salts, otherwise known as synthetic cathinones, to a list of banned substances. The move "is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety," the agencies said.

Executive compensation: The Federal Housing Finance Agency is making changes to a rule about compensation for top officials in the housing industry. The rule would require the compensation for executives to be "reasonable and comparable" with other executives in similar businesses and with similar responsibilities.

Golden parachute: The Federal Housing Finance Agency is changing rules about golden parachute payments to executives at companies that are affiliated with government loan programs. A golden parachute payment is an agreement between a company and an executive at the company that the employee will receive certain benefits if the employee is fired.

EPA: The Environmental Protection Agency plans to change its procedures for assistance agreement disputes. The agency is seeking comments on the new rule before it becomes permanent.